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SPANISH VERB

leer entre líneas

to read between the lines

  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: leyendo entre líneas
  • Past participle: leído entre líneas

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I read between the lines
  2. tú you read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella he/she reads between the lines
  4. nosotros we read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain you all read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they read between the lines

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I read between the lines
  2. tú you read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella he/she read between the lines
  4. nosotros we read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain you all read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they read between the lines

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to read between the lines
  2. tú you used to read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to read between the lines
  4. nosotros we used to read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to read between the lines

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will read between the lines
  2. tú you will read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will read between the lines
  4. nosotros we will read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain you all will read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will read between the lines

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would read between the lines
  2. tú you would read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would read between the lines
  4. nosotros we would read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain you all would read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would read between the lines

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I read between the lines
  2. tú (that) you read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she read between the lines
  4. nosotros (that) we read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they read between the lines

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I read between the lines
  2. tú (if) you read between the lines
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she read between the lines
  4. nosotros (if) we read between the lines
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all read between the lines
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they read between the lines

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú read between the lines!
  2. usted read between the lines! (formal)
  3. nosotros read between the lines! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain read between the lines! (all of you)
  5. ustedes read between the lines! (all of you)

How to use leer entre líneas

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Con mi madre leo entre líneas desde niña.

    With my mother I've read between the lines since I was a girl.

  2. Past

    Leí entre líneas y entendí que no vendría.

    I read between the lines and understood she wouldn't come.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela leía entre líneas cada carta de mi abuelo.

    My grandmother read between the lines of every letter from my grandfather.

  4. Future

    Algún día leerás entre líneas y lo entenderás.

    One day you'll read between the lines and understand.

  5. Conditional

    Cualquiera leería entre líneas en ese mensaje.

    Anyone would read between the lines of that message.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que leáis entre líneas en la entrevista.

    It's important that you read between the lines in the interview.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Escribió la carta para que la leyéramos entre líneas.

    He wrote the letter for us to read between the lines.

  8. Imperative

    Lee entre líneas, hija, que ella nunca lo dirá.

    Read between the lines, love, she'll never say it.

Good to know

  • "Leer entre líneas" is to understand what someone means without their saying it; "entre líneas" is "between the lines".

Where you hear leer entre líneas

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Cuando hablo con mi madre, siempre leo entre líneas. When I talk to my mother, I always read between the lines.
  • Anoche, por fin, leí entre líneas. Last night, at last, I read between the lines.
  • Ya vas a aprender a leer entre líneas, hija. Con las madres, se aprende. You'll learn to read between the lines, sweetheart. With mothers, you learn.
8
A Call Home

Fluency Level 3 · Hay que saber leer entre líneas.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.